Hame-trace.



'lL-VIIIIAVIA G. W. AYRBS.

HAME TRACE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. ze, 1912.

vili.. ...45155213 VW/VVVIVM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. AYRES, OF ROLLA, MISSOURI.

ESAME-TRACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

Application led January 26, 1912.4 Serial No. 673,690.

.'hame or short traces and means for adjustably connecting the main or long. traces thereto, and has for one of its obgects to improve the construction and increase the etliciency, utility and durability of devices of this character.

Another object of the invention 1s to provide a device of this character constructed wholly of metal whereby the strength is increased without materially increasing the weight or expense.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter whereby the main or long traces may be coupled to the short or haine traces without puncturing or otherwise decreasing the strength of the long traces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will readily adapt itself to traces of varying thickness without structural change in the device.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction as hereafter shown and described, and then specifically pointed out in the claims, and in the drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved device; Fig. 2 -is a longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3--3 of'Fig. 2; Fig. A is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of one of the combined supporting and guide plates.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The improved device is designed to take the place of the ordinary short or hame trace extending between the girth portion of the harness and the hames, and comprises a body 10 formed from a single strip of sheet or plate metal bent into'U-shape transversely, and into which the billet end of the long or main trace represented at 11 extends. The body 10 is provided at one Vend with the haine-engaging loop 12,7and is likewise provided with a plurality of keepers 13 spaced apart and beneath which the billet end 11 of the trace issupported and prevented thereby from moving outwardly. At the inner or girth end of the member 10, the bottom of the body is turned outwardly to form a stop lip 14, and attached to the rear face of the body at its inner end is a plate 15 having loops above and below the body and likewise extending rearwardly thereof to receive the girth, backband and hold-back straps, the straps not being shown, as they form no part of the present invention. Connected to the inner faces of the outwardly extending portions of the body 10 are plates 16-17, the plate 16 having an inwardly directed guide rib 18,

while a similar guide rib 19 extends inwardly from the plate 17. Extending through the plates 16-17, and likewise through the sides of the body 10, is ya rod or shaft 2O upon which a roller 21 is mounted for rotation, while a similar rod or shaft .22 extends through the outwardly projecting portions of the plates 16-17 and car-l ries a roller 23. The rollersthus form compression devices, as hereafter explained. Slidably disposed between the plates 16-17 is a lower or inner grip plate 24. having a roughened or serrated outer,v face 25 and inwardly directed ribs 26 which slidably engage the guide ribs 1S-19. At its outer end the plate 21 is offset as shown at 27 to bear against the stop rib 111 when the plate 24: is in its outer position, and thus prevent the displacement of the plate. Extending from the inner end of the plate 24: are ears 28 between which a presser or grip plate 29 is pivoted at 30, the aperture for the pin being enlarged or slotted to provide for a relatively large free movement of the grip plate.

The inner face of the grip plate is roughened or serrated as shown at 31, and extends in substantially parallel relations to the serrated surface 25 of the plate 24. A spring 32 is connected at 33 to the grip member 29 and curves around the pivot end of the grip member and is adapted to bear against the outer face. By this means the spring exerts its force to maintain the member 29 yieldably in position against the outer face of the long trace 11 when the latter is inserted between the plate 24 and the grip member 29.

The outer face of the grip member 29 is inclined to the longitudinal plane of the body so that asthe plate 24 and the grip member are moved outwardly toward the inner or girth end of the device the inner face of .the plate 24 will move over the roller 21 while the incl-ined face of the member 29 will `move beneath the roller 23, and be thereby compressed firmly against the trace 11, and the greater the strain the greater will be the grip betw-een the parts. The grip plate by the operation of the slotted aperture for the pin 3()y readily adapts itself to varying thicknesses of the main trace, and also causes the whole surface ofthe plate 29 to bear upon the trace. The rollers thus serve to compress the jaws upon the trace when strain is applied to the latter. This is an important feature of applicants device and materially increases its eiiiciency and utility. By this simple arrangement it will be obvious that when the trace 11 is to be adjusted to increase or decrease its length, the trace 11 is forcibly moved endwise in the body 10 when detached from the swingletree, which movement will correspondingly move the members 24--29l away from between the rollers 21--23, leaving the member 29 free to be turned upwardly against the resistance of the spring. When the plate 24 is thus moved into its released position the oifset terminal 27 will engage against the roller 21 and be prevented thereby from displacement in that direction. The member 24; with its attachments is thus held from displacement in either direction by the co-action of the stop member 14 and the oifset 27. When thetrace A11 has been adjusted to the desired point', the member 29 is restored to its operative position, and then when strain is applied to the trace the members 24--29 will be drawn again between the rollers 21-23,

and the strain again applied to the long trace. Y Y

The improved device is simple in construction, is constructed wholly of metal preferably of steel, and will be as light as possible consistent with the strains to which it is subjected.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A haine trace comprising a supporting body having out-turned edges, plates having guide ribs and bearing between said outturned, edges, compression devices spaced apart and supported by said plates, an inner jaw having flanges engaging said guide ribs and movable between said compression devices, and an outer wedge-shaped jaw movably coupled atV its thicker end to said inner l jaw and extending at its thinner end bel tween said compression devices.

2. A hame trace comprising a supporting body having out-turned edges, plates having guide ribs and bearing between said outturned edges, compression devices spaced apart and supported by said plates, an inner jaw movable between said compression devices and having iianges engaging said guide ribs and fout-turned edges, and an outer wedge-shaped jaw provided with a relatively large aperture and bearing at its thinner end between said compression devices, and a pin extending through the ears of said inner jaw and through the aperture of the outer jaw, said jaws being designed to receive a trace between them.

3. A hame trace comprising a supporting body, compression devices spaced apart and supported relatively to said body, an inner jaw having its faces in parallel relation and movable over one of said compression devices, an outer jaw having one face in parallel relation to the confronting face of the inner jaw and its outer face extending obliquely to its inner face and movable against the other of said compression devices, and means for coupling the outer jaw for movement bodily toward and away from the inner jaw.

4. A hame trace comprising a supporting body, compression devices spaced apart and supported relatively to said body, an inner jaw movable against one of said compression devices and provided with outstanding ears, a pivot pin extending through said ears, and an outer wedge shaped jaw movable against the other of said compression devices and having a relatively large aperture through which said pin passes, whereby the whole face of the outer jaw is arranged to engage a trace disposed between the jaws.

5. A hame trace comprising a longitudinally channeled body including spaced sides and having means for attachment to the hames, backband and girth of a harness,

plates connected to said body sides and each having a guide rib, an outer and an inner rollermounted between said plates, and an inner clamp member and an outer wedgeshaped clamp member between which a long trace may pass, said inner clamp member having guide ribs engaging in the guide ribs of the plates and bearing over the inner roller and said outer clamp member swingingly connected at its thicker end to the inner clamp member and bearing at its thinner end beneath the outer roller.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. AYRES. [Ls] Witnesses J. H. SMITH, N. J. MoCAw Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, '.D. C. 

